90 Day Plan: Starting Your New CIO Job

Spring is a time of renewal. And on this mother’s day when the temperature nears 70 I am reminded of this as I look out from kitchen porch. The grass is greening up, tulips blooming, and perennials emerging. I see my neighbor Dale’s calves frolicking in the fields while Harvey pulls his planter up the road. I suspect the Kortbien’s will be out in my fields any time now as long as the rain holds off.

Spring is also the time for many people in higher education to reflect on the ending of another school year and the prospects for the year ahead. In these political times, retirements at many public institutions are at records levels. In Wisconsin we are seeing rates as high as three times normal for retirements of faculty and administrators. Clearly our surge is in response to the changes in collective bargaining statutes. But it is also due to fears retirement benefit multipliers may be next for changes causing many to lock in their rates before that happens.

But if you are not of retirement age you may be see this as a real opportunity to consider advancement opportunities with so many senior position becoming open. For CIO’s looking to move up in responsibility to a larger institution or to get a change in climates this too may be one of the best times for opportunities. For IT managers looking for their first CIO assignment, the timing couldn’t be better as CIO posts get filled the ripple of vacancies will follow.

Candidates for CIO positions will likely find institutions looking for candidates to present a 90-day plan as part of the selection process. Even if they don’t ask for a sample, it is an absolute must that you have one ready to go on day one in order to avoid the 5 Signs Your New Job May be A Disaster I covered in my last post.

A 90-Day Plan for new CIO positions is not all that complicated as it is more of a structured set of tasks to keep you focused on what matters most in your new role. If you are taking an internal promotion avoid the temptation to not create a 90-Day Plan since it will help you separate from you old duties and begin seeing things from a different perspective.

Excellent post, Jerry. How should a new CIO look beyond the first 90 days? I take it that is when he or she should get the act together and at the end of 90 days give a full appraisal of the IT's strength and weaknesses. By that time, I suspect a successful start accrues some credibility for that vaunted seat at the C level table.

The 90+ period is about execution of the plan developed in the first 90 days. I advise people of all job types to focus on the near term. It is better to execute against 1 or 2 precise objectives that can be done in that 120-180 day window to validate you can assess the situation, develop a plan and achieve the results you set out for communicating along the way than to have a grandious plan you make no progress on. It's a first impressions idea with action and results.

This idea also guards against in complete assessment or misdiagnosis so you can easilly pivot as teh reality of the new job unfolds. Most importantly, it allows success to be achieved before gettign to bogged down in the organization.

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